Military
Russia will test fly its first domestically-produced strike unmanned aircraft in 2014, according to First Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Sukhorukov. In February, Army General Nikolay Makarov, the chief of the Russian General Staff, said the drone would be first test flied in late 2012, a revision of the initial 2015
Propulsion
Holloman Air Force Base is home to the first two new aviation gasoline trucks in Air Combat Command's inventory that were specifically designed to support the MQ-1 Predator remotely piloted aircraft. "They were uniquely designed, ordered, and built for the MQ-1 mission here," said MSgt. Jason
Military
This 15-minute video shows an MQ-9 Reaper taking off and landing at Wheeler Sack Army Airfield (WSAAF) at Fort Drum, New York on 05 April 2012. The MQ-9 is from the 174th Fighter Wing which launches and recovers its aircraft at WSAAF. The video was shot by Tech. Sergeant Ricky
Business
AeroVironment has announced that the U.S. Marine Corps is the first military service to adopt four different small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) from the company with the receipt of a firm fixed-price order valued at $5,558,479 for the RQ-20A Puma AE through an existing U.S. Army
Military
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has dismissed Tehran's claims that it has recovered data from the RQ-170 that went down in Iran late last year. Without providing details, Panetta said that "based on my experience that I would seriously question their ability to do what they say
VTOL
Northrop Grumman has received a new $262.3 million contract to develop and build a new MQ-8C version of the Firescout unmanned rotorcraft, the US Navy announced on 23 April. The aircraft will port all of the avionics and data-links of the existing MQ-8B to the much larger Bell 407
Military
AeroVironment announced it received a firm fixed-price order valued at $20,430,433 from the U.S. Army for RQ-20A Puma AE small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) on March 27, 2012. The Puma AE systems will provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities for security, route clearance operations and overall battle
Business
Northrop Grumman will roll-out the first US Navy MQ-4C in June, company and USN officials say. The first USN test aircraft is about to enter ground testing, says Captain Jim Hoke, Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR) programme manager for the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned maritime surveillance
Accidents
Iran claimed on Sunday that it had reverse-engineered the RQ-170 captured by its armed forces last year and has begun building a copy. General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, chief of the aerospace division of the Revolutionary Guards, related what he said were details of the aircraft's operational history to
Data Links & Communications
The Common Link Integration Processing (CLIP) system being developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation has received Milestone C acquisition approval from the US Air Force, leading to the fielding of this software package and providing aircrews with enhanced capabilities to communicate critical tactical information. CLIP software translates and formats messages and
VTOL
The K-MAX cargo unmanned helicopter has impressed Marine Corps aviation leaders since the aircraft deployed to Afghanistan on Dec. 17, but the Marine Corps is not quite ready to give it the green light. One would expect that Afghanistan would be the ultimate test for a cargo helicopter considering the
Military
Option 1 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. announced the near-term availability of two extended endurance options for its Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper fleet. “We are continually seeking ways to improve our platforms, making them more relevant for our customers’ emerging needs,” said Frank W. Pace, President, Aircraft Systems Group, GA-ASI.